Skip to main content
CivicGate

HR 1517
Introduced Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.

Prevent Interruptions in Physical Therapy Act of 2025

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to add physical therapists to the list of providers allowed to utilize locum tenens arrangements under Medicare.

Introduced Feb 24, 2025

Latest action (Feb 24, 2025) Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Referred to
Ways and Means Committee Energy and Commerce Committee
Policy area
Health
Legislative subjects (6)
Contracts and agencyHealth care coverage and accessHealth personnelHome and outpatient careLong-term, rehabilitative, and terminal careMedicare

Summary

The bill amends Medicare law to allow physical therapists to use locum tenens arrangements, which permit temporary substitute providers to cover for the regular provider during absences. The bill extends the same locum tenens rules that currently apply to physicians to also cover outpatient physical therapy services furnished by physical therapists. The change is effective for services furnished after the bill's enactment.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)
63 cosponsors

Money behind the sponsor

Top reported contributors to Gus M. Bilirakis’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.

  • NULL $24,400
  • LINCARE $11,000
  • HOLLAND & KNIGHT $7,600
  • MCI $6,600
  • S&S $6,600

Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Gus M. Bilirakis → · Outside spending →

Actions (2)
  1. Feb 24, 2025 Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. · house
  2. Feb 24, 2025 Introduced in House

More bills on these subjects (8)

Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).

  • HR 7148 — Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (shares 5 subjects)
  • S 1232 — Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (shares 4 subjects)
  • HR 2531 — Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (shares 4 subjects)
  • HR 1968 — Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (shares 4 subjects)
  • HR 1683 — Protecting Rural Seniors’ Access to Care Act (shares 4 subjects)
  • HR 1654 — CUTS Act (shares 4 subjects)
  • HR 191 — Inflation Reduction Act of 2025 (shares 4 subjects)
  • HR 4993 — Joe Fiandra Access to Home Infusion Act of 2025 (shares 3 subjects)

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

  • S 2225 — Prevent Interruptions in Physical Therapy Act of 2025 · Introduced Jul 9, 2025 · Cong. 119 93%
  • HR 1171 — SAFE Act · Introduced Feb 10, 2025 · Cong. 119 63%
  • HR 879 — Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act of 2025 · Introduced Jan 31, 2025 · Cong. 119 62%
  • HR 3954 — Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2025 · Introduced Jun 12, 2025 · Cong. 119 62%
  • HR 7686 — Rural and Underserved Health Care Staffing Act · Introduced Feb 25, 2026 · Cong. 119 61%
  • HR 2590 — Mental and Physical Health Care Comorbidities Act of 2025 · Introduced Apr 2, 2025 · Cong. 119 60%

Text versions (1)
  • Introduced in House · Feb 24, 2025

Only one text version is on file, so there’s no earlier version to compare against yet.

Full text

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 24, 2025

Mr. Bilirakis (for himself and Mr. Tonko) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to add physical therapists to the list of providers allowed to utilize locum tenens arrangements under Medicare.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Prevent Interruptions in Physical Therapy Act of 2025”.

SEC. 2. ALLOWING PHYSICAL THERAPISTS TO UTILIZE LOCUM TENENS ARRANGEMENTS UNDER MEDICARE.

(a) In General.—The first sentence of section 1842(b)(6) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395u(b)(6)) is amended by striking “, and (J)” and all that follows through “physicians’ services furnished by physicians.” and inserting “, and (J) in the case of outpatient physical therapy services furnished by physical therapists, subparagraph (D) of this sentence shall apply to such services and therapists in the same manner as such subparagraph applies to physicians’ services furnished by physicians.”.

(b) Effective Date.—The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply to items and services furnished after the date of the enactment of this Act. <all>

Comments

Comments

Loading comments…